A B.C. Conservative government would address the financial crisis TransLink is facing by fully funding it for two years, extend SkyTrain to Newton in Surrey, build a new bridge between Kelowna and West Kelowna and expand Highway 1 to six lanes out to Chilliwack.
The Conservative Party of B.C. today released its platform on transportation. The major theme of the plan is breaking bottlenecks.
The plan includes a pledge to expand the new Pattullo Bridge – still under construction – from four to six lanes, and complete a crossing between Richmond and Delta post haste, though the Conservative plan does not say whether that would be with a bridge or tunnel.
The platform only commits to a “course of action that results in a new high-capacity opening at the earliest possible date.”
The previous BC Liberal government had been moving forward with a plan to replace the George Massey Tunnel with a new 10-lane bridge by 2022 -- a plan that the NDP government cancelled and replaced with a plan for an eight-lane tunnel.
Despite all the spending commitments it is making for new bridge and highway projects, the Conservatives are committing to "never implement the NDP road toll scheme, and never implement bridge tolls."
Proposed new bridges or bridge replacements in the Conservative plan include:
- a new bridge over Okanagan Lake between Kelowna and West Kelowa;
- a new Ironworkers Bridge;
- replacement of Taylor Bridge across the Peace River in northeast B.C.; and
- replacement of Red Bridge in Kamloops.
In addition to new bridges, the plan commits to upgrading Highway 19 in Nanaimo with grade separation, and widening Highway1 by going to six lanes between Vancouver and Chilliwack.
As for public transit, it is facing a crisis in the Lower Mainland. TransLink faces a $600 million funding gap in 2026, and has planned to implement deep cuts to bus and train routes in 2025.
The Conservatives are pledging to fully fund TransLink for two years, but will require an audit and reform of its financial model.
“TransLink is struggling with an outdated funding model that leaves it lurching from crisis to crisis every few years, preventing badly-needed investments to improve service,” the Conservative platform states.
“With nearly (one third) of Metro Vancouver residents counting on transit each week, it’s time to get transit on sound financial footing for the long-term.”
